Belt.



J. WISEMAN.

BELT.

APPLICATIDNFILED AUG.3I. 1914.

Pafented Oct. 3, 1916.

Wmwm I STATES PATENT onnrc JACOB WIsnM n, or PHILADELfi-IIA,PEiiNsYLvAifiA, Ass'ienon To Pioniiiift SU-SPENDER COMPANY, AcoRPoRA'iIofi 0P PE'fiiTsYLvAiTIA.

BELT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentedoc't. 3, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAooB WISEMAN, a subject of the Emperor ofAustria-Hungary, residing at Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulBelt, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in belts.

The object is to provide improved method and means for securing thebuckle and also the loop or loops to the belt.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate merely by way of examplesuitable e'mbodiments of my invention Figure 1 is a view in perspectiveof a portion of a belt made of a solid piece of leather, such as bridlestrap leather. Fig. 2 is a top View of same showing the split end beforeassembling the buckle and loops. Fig.3 is a view in perspective of aportion of a belt formed of layers of leather or other material sewed orotherwise secured together. Fig. 4c is a top view of same showing thesplit end before assembling the buckle and loop. Fig. 5 is a view inperspective of a belt of tubul'ar formation, that is to say, anextension of leather folded longitudinally in the form of a tube, themeeting edges being sewed to gether and the belt flattened out as shown.Fig. 6 is a top view of same showing the longer layer threaded throughthe two loops and the buckle folded upon itself, and secured to the endof the shorter layer. Fig. 7 is a section on line 7 7 of Fig.1. Fig. 8is a section on line 8-6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a section on line 99 ofFig. 3. Fig. 10 is a section on line 1010 of Fig. 3. Fig. 11 is asection on line 1111 of Fig. 5; Fig. 12 is a section on line 1212 ofFig. 5.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As is well known the usual manner of securing a buckle to the end of thestrap is by doubling the strap over upon itself around the buckle frameand sewing or otherwise fastening the end of the strap to the main bodythereof. Where this strap and buckle are designed to be used as a beltit is usual to provide on the strap, near the buckle, one or more loopsto hold the free end of the strap which passes through the buckle. Wherethe ordinary strap is simply threaded through and bent around upon itself and the two extensions secured together to hold the loop or loopsin position, it is obvious that this doubling of the strap upon itself,especially of a length sufficient to secure the two loops properlypositioned, is objectionable for several reasons. One reason is, thatthe belt is undesirably bulky at thispart of its extension, especiallyso when the strap used is of thick or heavy material. Another reason isthat the use of this additional length of belt, doubled upon itself,results in an unnecessary waste, which becomes a very serious item ofloss, where large quantities of belts are manufactured as wearingapparel. This waste or loss becomes especially significant where finegrades of leather or other expensive materials are employed. It has alsobeen found necessary, in many cases, especially where heavy materialsareused, to cut a groove, transverse the extension of the belt, toreceive the portion of the frame which the belt incloses, in order toreduce the bulkiness of the structure at this point, or to secure aneate'r fit of the strap upon the buckle. This process adds to theexpenseof manufacturing the belt, and there is also danger of weakeningthe belt more than necessary at this point, since it is not alwayspossible to form the groove of uniform depth. I have found that thesevarious disadvantages can be obviated in the following manner: I haveshown as' examples, three types of belt to which my invention is equallyapplicable. 7

Referring to Fig. 1 the strap portion of the belt is shown as a singlestrip of solid leather, similar to that used in making harness. It iscommonly called. in the art bridle strap. This strap 14 is split at oneend in a longitudinal direction to the extent of about five inches, moreor less, forming the separated extensions or layers 15 and 16. Part ofextension 15 is now cut away leaving a part of extension 16 projectingbeyond the end of extension 15, the split between the two layers orextensions 15 and 16 extending to a point as indicated at 17 Theextension 16 is threaded through loop member 18, the loop being carriedup to the point 17 and the two layers are then stitched or otherwisesecured together as at 19 holding the loop firmly in the desiredposition. The end of extension 16 is then threaded through the loop 20and through the buckle frame 21, it is then folded around the extension22 of the buckle frame, back upon itselfand over the loop 20 andstitched or otherwise secured, together with the free end of extension15, to the main body of extension 16, as at 23. Another line ofstitching 24 on the other side of loop 20 between the loop and thebuckle may advantageously be employed to hold the loop securely inposition and also the buckle 21. It will thus be seen that when theparts are all assembled the belt is of uniform thickness throughout itsentire extension. At the same time it has been reduced sufficiently inthickness Where it engageswiththebuckle to secure a neat fit about thebuckle frame and prevent unnecessary bulkiness at this point. By thisarrangement three lines of stitching only, are required to hold thebuckle and the loops securely in position, since the point or line 17,where the splitting ends, forms an effective margin for one side of thepocket in which loop 18 is secured. The leather can only be split with asharp instrument, and beyond the part out or split, there will be nofurther tendency for the leather to separate. Itwill therefore be seenthat by this arrangement the loop or loops and buckle can be secured inplace with a greater economy of time and labor than by any methodheretofore used, and the finished structure presents a much neaterappearance and is entirely relieved from the clumsiness or bulkinesswhich was present where the full thickness of the leather was foldedupon itself. In addition to this, a substantial amount of leather issaved on each belt, which was heretofore wasted by folding it over thetwo loops.

Figs. 8, 4, 9 and 10 show a composite belt made either of layers ofleather or of leather and other materials usually stitched together ateach edge as shown. With this construction, one layer may be separatedfrom an adjacent layer by a knife or other suitable means, and a portionof one layer then cut away entirely as above described,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for whereupon substantially thesame operation is repeated above described, with the exception that itis usually desirable to add the extra line of stitching 25 or othersecuring means, to the right of loop 18, to prevent a further ripping orseparation of the two layers. I

Figs. 5, 6, 11 and 12 show what is known as a tubular belt which isformed by taking a strip of leather and sewing its longitudinallyextending edges together, and then flattening the tube in a flat band asshown. This line of stitching 26 is located somewhere between the edgeson the inner or under side of the belt. The edges are now slit to apoint, for example as indicated at 27, thus forming two layers asheretofore described, and these layers are brought into operativerelationship with a buckle and loops also as heretofore described. Inthis case the additional line of stitching 25 is usually desirable toprevent any tendency of the margins to become separated beyond saidpoint.

What I claim is 1. In combination with a loop and a buckle, a belthaving one end split into two separable layers, one longer thantheother, the longer threaded through the loop and the buckle and foldedupon and in contact with itself and terminating adjacent the end of theshorter layer and secured in such position.

2. In combination with a loop and a buckle, a belt having one end splitinto two separable layers, of different lengths, one layer threadedthrough the loop to the end of the split, the longer layer threadedthrough the buckle and folded upon and in contact with itself to the endof its folded over portion with its end adjacent to the end of theshorter layer.

JACOB WISEMAN.

Witnesses:

LEO H. HEIMERDINGER, MAE HOFMANN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,D. 0.

